Fiscal Responsibility

In 2009, our county faced the largest debt and deficit in American history — caused by two unfunded wars, unfunded tax cuts that favored the wealthy, a financial collapse caused by reckless actions of Wall Street and the worst recession since the Great Depression.

It’s time for us to move forward. Tammy Baldwin is committed to fiscal responsibility — reducing our debt and deficits with a balanced approach, fighting for responsibility and fairness. Tammy sponsored legislation in Congress to ensure millionaires pay their fair share of taxes and fights to see that no big multinational corporations get away with paying nothing at all.

In 2001, she opposed billions in tax breaks for overseas corporations; in 2004, she voted against a corporate tax bill that included $42 billion in tax cuts for overseas operations of U.S. companies and she has consistently opposed taxpayer hand-outs for big oil.

To reduce spending, Baldwin would take away subsidies to big corporate farms, bring our troops home from Afghanistan and reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare by ending taxpayer give-aways to the pharmaceutical industry — requiring that Medicare negotiate with prescription drug companies.

Unlike her opponents, who will force cuts in education, health care, Medicare and Social Security while letting millionaires and big corporations off the hook, Tammy is opposed to placing the sole burden of reducing our deficit on lower-income and middle class families as well as seniors.

Tammy, raised by her grandparents, learned the value Medicare and Social Security hold at a young age. She understands America’s seniors expect nothing more than to retire with dignity and security. That’s why she opposes Republican plans to fund tax cuts for the wealthy by cutting Social Security and Medicare. When it comes to Social Security benefits, Tammy is committed to protecting it — not privatizing it — just as she is committed to preserving and strengthening Medicare, not ending it as we know it.

We can’t cut our way to prosperity — a balanced approach to deficit reduction asks everyone to pay their fair share, closes tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations and protects the investments that are vital to our economic recovery: education, rebuilding our infrastructure, strengthening our manufacturing base, and reducing the tax burden on small businesses so that they can continue to create jobs and drive our economy forward.